Angels and Vampires
by amandagm
Summary: Takes place after Book 13. Another alternate ending. I was going to enter this in the Beat the Clock challenge, but, well, I couldn't beat the clock and get it entered in time. It will be between 3-5 chapters. Enjoy! Canon.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Takes place after Book 13. Another alternate ending. I was going to enter this in the Beat the Clock challenge, but, well, I couldn't beat the clock and get it entered in time. Once I thought up the plot, I just couldn't get it out of my head. It will be between 3-5 chapters. I'm still writing The Law Firm of LDE and will have a chapter up for that this week. Much love to tabularasa88 for being my beta. She rocks and is an awesome author. You simply must read her stories. Enjoy!

Ch. 1

Sookie sat in the hard, wooden chair beside the old, wrought-iron bed. She sat there holding the old man's withered hand. His small, emaciated body lay in bed while he slept, each one of his breaths audible and labored, and his heartbeat slow and irregular. Death was near now and it was just a matter of time before he would pass into the next plane of existence. Sadness enveloped her. Another loved one lost. She had experienced so much death and loss while a human and as an angel that she didn't think she could withstand another. It felt like a fissure in her soul was breaking apart within her.

While the old man slept, Sookie took in her surroundings. The old Hale farmhouse was now 500 years old and despite the TLC administered by its current owner, it still showed its age. The windows let in the drafty night air as if there were no barrier to the coldness outside. The floors and walls creaked and groaned with the wind beating against the house. No matter. The old man was the last in the bloodline, the last heir to occupy this home. No one else would live here, not without the sentimental attachment her family line felt to the place. No, the next owner would not be a Stackhouse, Hale, or Delahoussaye. It would be a stranger and they would buy the property for the land, not the house. The thought both saddened her and relieved her as she recalled her own many memories in this house.

"Wh..what are you thinking about so pensively Sookie?" the old man's raspy voice croaked.

"Peter," Sookie said, shifting her eyes to his and giving him a small smile. "Nothing, just memories. None of that matters now. Shall I get you a drink?"

"A glass of water would be lovely," Peter replied, his voice gravelly with thirst and non-use.

Sookie rose from his side, giving Peter's hand a small squeeze before she went to the small table that held a pitcher of water and a glass. She poured Peter his drink and then returned to his side. When he struggled to sit up, Sookie immediately used her free arm to lift him to sitting and then placed the glass to his lips. Peter's dry, cracked lips drank in small measured sips. "Not too much please. I just needed something to moisten my mouth so that I can speak to you."

"Peter, you don't need to say anything. Save your strength."

"And what is the point of that Sookie? I'm dying. You know it. It's why you're here, right?"

Sookie set the glass on the bedside table. Her eyes filled with tears and she nodded her head. "You remember Peter. When you were a boy and I came to you, I told you that I would always tell you the truth. Yes, you are going home. Home to heaven. To your momma, and daddy and your baby sister, to all of our family and all of your friends. I'm here to see you on your journey. No one should die alone," and a tear slipped from her eye. Sookie quickly wiped it away. She promised herself she wouldn't cry and now she was mad at herself for failing to keep her word. She didn't want her sorrow to taint Peter's passing.

"Now, now. Why so sad?," the dying man said, consoling the angel. "Look at me. I welcome death. Sookie, I am 128 years old. I've lived a long, full, happy life. My body is withered and frail. I've outlived my family and friends. And I chose not to marry and have kids. I take this curse, our curse, with me to my grave. No other member of our bloodline will walk this earth with this curse lingering in their DNA. It's better this way. And besides, I'm not alone. I have you," he said, squeezing her hand feebly with the little strength he still possessed. "And because of you, I don't fear what waits for me on the other side. I welcome it. Sookie, you have been an angel to me in more ways than one. You helped me when I was young and struggled with my telepathy … teaching me how to use my shields. You taught me about the supernatural world … how it really works. Not the propaganda the vampires, weres, shifters, and demons push on us humans. It is because of you that I have lived the life I have, free from intrigue and power struggles, not as some slave in a gilded cage, or worse. You have made that possible. And not just for me, but for all of our line that you have served as guardian."

"I know, but it still makes me sad seeing you pass. Losing you on this plane."

"And one day, I will see you again. When you choose to no longer serve humans as guardian angel, you can go to heaven, and be with great, great, great … oh hell, I forgot how many greats, but with my Grandfather Jason, and Hunter and his heirs," and Peter smiled. "Since I'm the last of our line, I wonder who you will guard next? No matter, when I do see you again, I hope you will remember me."

"Always," Sookie quickly whispered.

"I'm tired and cold. My chill is bone deep," Peter said, his voice thin and weak.

"Here, let me get you another blanket," Sookie said and she grabbed the afghan at the foot of the bed and spread it over Peter's small form. With all of the blankets, he was engulfed in his bedding, but Sookie knew that all of the blankets would do nothing to allay the cold he felt. That cold was death and it was creeping into him more rapidly now.

"Sookie, before I go, I … I w..want you to k..know," Peter wheezed and then coughed a rough, chest deep cough. Sookie grabbed a handkerchief and wiped the spittle from Peter's chin.

"Shhh. Hush now," Sookie soothed.

"No…I … I have.. to," and then his small frame was wracked with more coughs. Once Peter regained his composure, Sookie gave him a small sip of water and he was able to continue, "I love you Sookie. Thank you…Th..thank …." And with a last wheeze of breath, Peter passed into the next life.

Sookie's body collapsed onto Peter's corpse, holding him tight and her body shook with silent sobs. She allowed her tears to flow freely now, and they fell onto Peter's face.

"Sookie, he is gone," she heard a sweet, melodious voice sing.

"I know that Claudine," Sookie said, more tersely than she intended, without ever looking up to acknowledge Claudine's appearance. She sat up and wiped away her tears and then looked down at Peter's lifeless face. She gave him one last kiss on his forehead and then slowly closed his eyes and mouth, which was slightly agape.

"He lived a good life Sookie. Because of you. You should be so proud, you did that. You did that for him."

"Why are you here Claudine?" Sookie finally looked away from Peter to Claudine, who stood at the foot of the bed; however, Sookie never released Peter's hand, craving that last connection to her now deceased family member.

Claudine's face took on a look of sadness and concern at the sorrow her cousin felt. She hated to see Sookie take the loss of each charge harder than the last. Finally, she spoke up, "The Great Creator has felt your distress. He has an offer for you and I am here to give it to you."

This piqued Sookie's curiosity. She had met the Great Creator once, when she died in her human life and was made an angel, but she hadn't seen or spoken to the Great Creator since that time.

"_She_ felt my distress?" The Great Creator was genderless, being a divine light, and Sookie preferred to think that the Great Creator, one who gives life and transforms life, had to be female if one were to assign a gender to her.

Claudine smiled, remembering Sookie's preference. "Yes, you know … _she_ … feels these things. She knows your unhappiness. So, she has an offer for you." Sookie sat expectantly and Claudine took that as her signal to continue. "For the past 150 years or so, you have served as guardian angel to your bloodline. With Peter's passing, that line is now extinguished. You can, if you choose, have another being to guard. Or…" Claudine paused, not knowing exactly how Sookie would receive the next offer.

"Or what Claudine," Sookie asked impatiently.

"Or, you can leave this existence and join your family in the hereafter."

Sookie sat stock still, taking in the offer. No more death. Only afterlife. Anyone she met in the future, it would be when they died, but she wouldn't have to be there to experience it. Instead of saying good-bye, it would be a homecoming as she greeted them on the other side. But then again, Sookie thought, who would there be for her to greet anew after Peter's passing. All of her family and friends were already in the hereafter… except for her vampires. Sookie immediately mentally chastised herself …_ they aren't your vampires Sookie. They never were. _No, there was only one who was her vampire, and he cast her aside many, many years ago….

"Well, what do you think?"

"I … I don't know what to think. You are right Claudine. There is nothing left tying me here to this plane."

"You don't have to decide right now. But when you do make your decision, the Great Creator will know and it will be done."

After a brief moment of thought, Sookie said "No Claudine. I don't need time to consider the Great Creator's offer. There is nothing for me here. I am ready to go to the hereafter," and Sookie spread her arms to be received into heaven.

Claudine feared that Sookie was rushing her decision based on the rawness of her emotions and wanted her cousin to give her decision more thought than she had. "Wait!" she screamed, pulling Sookie out of her posture. "I know we don't have any family left on this plane, but what about your vampires? I know you haven't spoken to them in hundreds of years, many years before you died, but they are still here in this plane. Don't you think you ought to see them first before you finally decide? Maybe …."

"Maybe what Claudine," Sookie spat. "I can't go back to that … being reminded of how I was used and abused by vampires. How I fell in… into vampire politics. No, I haven't seen _those_ vampires in a long time and for good reason."

"Once they fought by your side. You once called them friends, and even more…." Sookie shot a heated gaze at Claudine.

"They only fought by my side because _he_ asked them to. And then he walked out of my life forever, casting me off like … like…" Sookie's voice trailed off as she was overtaken by the sadness that always came when she thought about her human life … and him.

"Look, I was there too you know. Not all of them fought for you because he asked them to," and Claudine's eyes glazed over, remembering the fairy war in which Eric, Bill and Pam fought alongside Niall and his fairies to protect Sookie, and in which Claudine and her unborn child had died. Claudine involuntarily placed her hand on her stomach and Sookie, seeing her movement, softened towards her cousin.

"I know you were there. What it cost you," Sookie said, her eyes filled with tears at being reminded again of another family member's life lost, and that time, because of her.

"I've made my peace with it," Claudine said, returning to herself. "Look, I'm just saying, before you make your decision, you should think it over. Talk to the vampires that are still here about it. Then decide."

"I don't even know who is here anymore," Sookie responded with downcast eyes, fumbling for any excuse to not go down this path.

Claudine smiled mischievously seeing Sookie's resistance wearing thin. "That is why I found out for you." Sookie's head shot up, but Claudine only continued, "Pam is still Sheriff of Area 5, living in Shreveport and many of the vampires you knew then still live in the area and serve her. Going through several battles and wars together tends to make people loyal, even vamps, and she has been a fair leader."

Sookie considered the matter. She and Pam were close … once. There was a time when Pam called Sookie her favorite breather and Sookie called Pam friend. "Well, I suppose it is only to Shreveport, and Pam was a friend to me in my life."

"Yes, yes she was. She still owns and operates Fangtasia and conducts all of her area business from there, but instead of a hokey dive bar, it is now a trendy nightclub." Sookie looked curiously at Claudine, "Well, what did you expect? Vampires are no longer the oddity they were after the Great Revelation, and Pam always wanted … well … let's just say its under new management."

Sookie took a moment to consider this and smiled. It was so … Pam.

"Oh, and Eric is back and living in Pam's area."

"What!" Sookie shouted, rising from the bed and releasing Peter's hand.

"His marriage to Oklahoma ended oh, 50 odd years ago. He left there as soon as the contract was up and he's been, I don't know, bouncing around from place to place, but most recently, he's returned to his child in Area 5."

"So, if I go and see Pam, I'm likely to see Eric as well." Sookie posited out loud.

"Sookie, go. Maybe it is nothing, but maybe it is something. Maybe they give you reason to stay, or maybe you take this as your opportunity to say good-bye," Claudine reasoned.

After the initial emotional shock of possibly seeing Eric wore off, Sookie saw the wisdom in Claudine's words. Closure. It was something she didn't get. Something that she strived to make sure each of her charges had in their human life. A chance to make peace and say good-bye. Sookie doubted there was anything to hold her to this realm, but she did like the idea of getting closure before she moved onto the next. _Besides, _she thought, _I always knew this day would come. The day when I would see Eric one last time and give him my gift. It is why I made it for him after all. _Resigned to her decision, Sookie relaxed her stance and answered Claudine, "Fine. Fine, I'll go." She stood to leave and Claudine stopped her.

A huge smile broke out across Claudine's face showing her approval at Sookie's decision. Then Claudine slowly took in Sookie's appearance. Both women were wearing the flowy white gossamer gowns that all guardian angels wear while attending to official business in this world, that is, when they were not otherwise in disguise. "Wonderful. But first, I think you're going to want to change."

**A/N: **Thoughts?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I never read CH's coda, and then saw a summary of it on Wikipedia. Let's just say I'm ignoring her entire **_**After Dead**_** synopsis. I was also horribly saddened when I read what CH had in store for Sookie's future … but really that is because she doesn't end up with Eric, as she damn well should! Anyway, that is what fanfiction is for: righting the wrongs done by these creative, yet cruel authors. If you enjoy this chapter, you need to thank tabularasa88, because her feedback improved it greatly!**

Ch. 2

Sookie hesitantly stood just outside of Fantangsia's parking lot, which was filled with solar-powered hovercrafts. She almost burst into a fit of laughter at the irony. The entire world, vampires included, were now wholly dependent on solar energy, with all other forms of energy being either depleted or outlawed within the last 250 years. She smiled as she surveyed the lot – creatures of the night dependent on the sun – and then briefly wondered which hovercraft belonged to Eric and whether it was red and sporty. _Not relevant_ she mentally scolded.

Sookie decided that, physically, she would look like she did when she last saw Eric and Pam, which was just before Eric left for Oklahoma. She thought it would be easier for them to see her in her 29-year old form, since it was likely how they remembered her. Next, she had to decide on her attire. She and Claudine spent some time considering what Sookie should wear – something modern and consistent with what one would wear to a vampire nightclub in this day and age, or something subdued like jeans and a simple shirt and jacket; however, in the end Sookie opted for a simple sundress that was ice blue, the same shade of blue as her eyes, paired with a soft white cardigan. Sure, it was old-fashioned, downright antiquated really, but it was consistent with the style Sookie used to wear during that time of her life, and it seemed natural to mimic that time period. She had momentarily considered wearing a white sundress with red roses just like she wore the first time she came to Fangtasia, but she quickly dismissed that idea as a foolish moment of nostalgia. After all, she wasn't that girl anymore.

Sookie took in the club while she fidgeted with the strap of her purse. Pam had apparently made some major renovations to the place. Other than the name, she would never have recognized this club as the same vampire bar in which she had first met Eric and Pam all those years ago. The building was bigger now. It was trendy yet tasteful, with bright pink and blue neon signs. A faint beat of bass emanated from the club and there was a long line out the door.

Sookie briefly considered just popping herself inside; but instead, she decided to wait in line like everyone else. This way she could get a read on the clientele, and it also bought her some time to build up her courage. Finally, finding her resolve, Sookie smoothed down the front of her dress with her hands, straightened her purse, squared her shoulders, set her head high, and made her way through the throng of hovercrafts towards the door.

The line was full of people in modern, trendy club wear. Just in front of her were five scantily clad women who were talking amongst themselves. They were wearing halter tops and hot pants made from a fabric derived from metal (metal is the new cotton after all) with high platform shoes. These sorts of clothes were the present day style, despite the fact that it was wholly inappropriate for Louisiana's chilly late fall weather. Sookie couldn't help but to shake her head in silent disapproval. She then decided to dip in their heads to see what she could find out about the club.

She learned that this was one of the premier vampire nightclubs in the South and while Mistress Pam was the main attraction, one might also be lucky enough to see the Viking here too. She also learned that one of the women had been intimate with Pam, three of them had been intimate with Eric, and one of them had been intimate with both Pam and Eric; and they were all hoping that Pam and Eric would be at the club tonight. Sookie quickly backed out of their heads and squeezed her eyes tight shut, as if that act would remove the images from her mind. Of course, it didn't.

But the images, while distressing, weren't really what bothered Sookie. Sookie was more bothered by the fact that it bothered her. Why should she care? Of course, vampires like to feed and fuck. It is in keeping with their nature. Sookie of all people should know that. Plus, she had no claim to Eric, and hadn't for a very long time. She wasn't even human anymore and jealousy was such a human emotion. Really, it was beneath her present incarnation. _Wait? _She caught herself. _Am I jealous? Am I hurt? Both? Why do I feel either? We're divorced, I haven't seen him in more than 250 years, and for goodness sakes, I'm not even human anymore. Get it together Stackhouse_. _Closure. Saying good-bye. _She had to remind herself that was her sole purpose for being here, nothing more.

By this time, Sookie had finally made it to the doorman. The vampire working the door was one she didn't recognize. He was tall, maybe 6' 1" and his complexion still had a lingering tanness to it. Sookie assumed he must be a relatively new vamp, no more than 50 years turned by her estimate. He was handsome and had a faint English accent.

"Hello miss," said the stranger, eyeing Sookie appreciatively, if not a bit strangely given that her attire was completely out of character for the time and place. The vampire took a sniff and his eyes twinkled, but they didn't glaze over with the look of euphoria that vampires get when they smell a fairy, or even the lustful and interested look that they used to get when they smelled Sookie as a human-fairy hybrid. She knew her new smell as an angel, while pleasant, and even compelling for supernatural creatures, didn't drive anyone to lust – carnal or otherwise. She simply smelled good in a way that supernatural creatures found attractive.

Sookie gave the doorman a broad smile and handed him a photo ID and the cover charge that she made magically appear from her handbag. The vampire took the ID card and froze. He checked the name and photo on the ID to the person in front of him a second time. "It can't be," he whispered lowly. His voice was so low in fact, that if Sookie wasn't an angel, she wouldn't have heard him.

"It can't be what?" Sookie asked the vampire, genuinely puzzled.

"Here," he said, handing her back her ID and her cover charge. "Follow me miss, please."

Sookie entered the club and the vampire signaled to another to take over door duty. He moved quickly through the club. Not at vamp speed, but fast all the same. Sookie tried to keep up and still look at her surroundings. Pam had done a nice job with the club. From what she was able to tell, it was clean, a bit dark, but then again, the vampires would be able to see just fine. There was a good dance beat playing and as she and the vampire rounded the dance floor, she could see there were many people dancing and enjoying themselves, mostly humans, but some vampires and even a few weres too. While she was taking in the sights, her own attire had more than a few people gawking. Some wondered if there was going to be a historical reenactment at the club, while others thought Sookie was a vampire from the turn of the early 21st century (some vampires' fashion sense never evolved with the times). Slightly embarrassed, Sookie decided to raise her shields.

The vampire took Sookie to a glass elevator leading up to the VIP area on the second floor. This level was new and had a good view of the dance floor. The VIP area looked like a big open space, but on further investigation, Sookie could "hear" the minds of donors behind secret holographic walls. The doorman looked back at Sookie and saw confusion on her face. "Our VIP rooms have holographic technology that can be downloaded if privacy is needed. Otherwise, you don't even see the private rooms." Sookie simply nodded. _Very convenient_, she thought.

Stepping off the elevator, Sookie saw Pam sitting in a VIP booth that was plusher than the others. Sookie concluded that this must be Pam's version of a throne. Pam, of course, looked like she always had when Sookie had known her in her lifetime, being unchangeable and all. She wore a revealing metallic pink dress, paired with metallic gold gladiator sandals that laced up her calves, and her hair was pinned in an elaborate up-do. She looked like a futuristic Marilyn Monroe, although a bit less curvaceous. Pam looked bored, staring down at the dancers on the floor below. She could have been in down time, she looked so still.

"Follow me miss," the doorman continued, and Sookie followed him as he led her to Pam. As Sookie approached her, Pam finally looked up and saw her former friend.

"Mistress," the doorman addressed Pam. "I thought you might like to know we have a guest …" and here the doorman indicated Sookie.

Vampires are great at hiding their emotions, but even Pam had a tough time trying to hide the look of shock on her face when she saw Sookie.

"Sookie," she breathed in disbelief.

"Hi Pam," Sookie smiled.

"Leave us John." The doorman gave Sookie one last look and then quickly walked away. "It can't be…" Pam faltered. She was frozen, completely transfixed by the person before her. "I saw you…. You were dead…. I went to your funeral…. It was open casket…. You didn't look like this, you were old and wrinkly…. It still smelled just like you, tinged with the smell of death, but there was no mistaking that it was you," Pam said in disbelief.

"Yes, I did die. And now I'm here." Sookie said with a nervous smile.

"But how… what are you?" Pam asked.

"Well, if you must know, I'm an angel."

Once that piece of information sunk in, Pam, vampire-quick, rounded the small table in front of her and threw her arms around Sookie. She pulled her into a tight hug and buried her face in her hair, inhaling her friend's new scent. With a small sniffle, she struggled to fight back the joyful bloody tears that threatened to spill. Sookie, stiff with shock, finally softened into the embrace. After a moment, Pam remembered herself and pulled away from Sookie, but she didn't release her grip on Sookie's arms, fearing her friend might disappear. Pam's eyes flitted across the room and saw that others had noticed her very uncharacteristic and public show of emotion. "Come. Let's go to my office so that we can have some privacy." Pam tightly gripped Sookie's hand and led her towards her office, which was just off the VIP area.

Pam's office was bright and light with a pink and white color scheme. It seemed that despite the years, Pam's favorite color and true basic style hadn't changed at all. Sookie took a seat on the pristine white couch while Pam stood in the doorway unable to take her eyes off of Sookie. "I just can't get over that it's you. It's really you. And you're here." Pam closed the door and momentarily looked towards her desk, but then decided to take a seat next to Sookie. She just couldn't bear the distance now that she was here. Pam reached out to hold Sookie's hand, and Sookie gave it to her willingly.

"You have to tell me … everything. What happened to you? Where did you go? What have you been doing these past 250 years? How did you end up as an angel? …. You broke off all contact with vamps when Karin left the area after your year of protection. We never saw you again, not even Bill. It wasn't until I saw your obituary in the newspaper many years later that I learned of your passing. The newspaper said you never married or had kids, is it true?" Sookie simply nodded; however, she wanted to correct Pam. She wanted to tell her that had been married, once, but no, she never _remarried_. However she was afraid to say the words. Despite the intervening years, her marriage was still a raw subject with her. "I thought that was what you always wanted." Here, Sookie just sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Tears welled in her eyes and she feared if she uttered a single word, they would spill. "Sookie, I simply must know…." Pam pleaded.

It was absurd really. This is exactly what Sookie came here for and now she couldn't even speak. She took a moment to compose herself and then finally said, "Well, there is so much tell, I'm not sure I know where to begin…"

She got no further though, because just then, Eric burst through the door, splintering the frame. His appearance, while impeccable, belied the fact that he was a man possessed. There was a fire in his icy blue eyes and while he needed no air to breath, he took a deep breath upon entering the room, like a swimmer taking a breath between strokes. He was the same as Sookie remembered, handsome as always. He was wearing black leather pants with a fitted black t-shirt and his heated gaze was directed at Sookie. It seems some things really don't ever change.

Eric looked at his former lover and his progeny, both sitting on the couch, holding hands. It was as if time stood still. This could have been the year 2010 instead of 2260, except the décor was all wrong. No one said anything for a long while and then, after taking a deep breath, Sookie spoke.

"Hi Eric."

**A/N: I hated to end it here, but this chapter was just getting too long and this seemed like a good break point. Let me know what you think. Love it, hate it, indifferent to it? **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: You guys are so awesome! Thanks for the reviews and love! Special thanks to tabularasa88 for her fantastic input. She is a fanfiction rock star and to give her full credit, some of this angsty dialogue is hers! I took some creative liberties with the afterlife and lore surrounding angels. I think that angels, while divine, aren't perfect, so neither is Sookie. After all, Lucifer/Satan was a fallen angel. :)**

Ch. 3

"Sookie," Eric breathed. "I didn't believe John when he told me you were here, but I caught your scent in the hall. It's different, but it's still you… and you are … alive … and young," Eric said, surprise and disbelief plainly evident in his voice. "Pam told me you were dead. She attended your funeral. What magic this? … What are you?"

"Eric, it's Sookie, it's really her," Pam said, turning to Sookie and tightening her grip. "She's an angel and she was just getting ready to tell me, well, everything."

Eric's eyebrows shot up briefly, but he quickly composed himself. "Literal?"

"Indeed," Pam replied.

"I see," he said coldly, quickly going from surprise to feigned indifference. It was like watching him build a wall to protect himself from whatever Sookie might say or do. He had the cold, hard mask that he had become accustomed to wearing in his 1300 years of vampire existence firmly in place. Sookie was taken aback, surprised to see it again. It had been a long, long time since he had used that façade with her. It was unyielding. He wasn't going to make this easy, whatever she had to say. Eric closed the broken door and eyed the empty space on the couch to Sookie's right. However, instead of taking it, he grabbed a chair opposite Pam's desk and turned it to face the couch, keeping his distance. None of this was lost on Sookie.

"Well, I was just telling Pam, I don't quite know right where to begin," Sookie started softly.

"The beginning is always good," Pam suggested and Sookie let out a small, nervous chuckle.

"Yes, why don't you start with when you started fucking the Shifter," Eric spat. Sookie's laughter immediately died on her lips and she stilled.

"That's fine. I deserve that. You left to marry Oklahoma," she said, jutting her chin at Eric, "and I had a relationship with Sam. It was … intense … for a while, but in the end, Sam and I weren't meant to be anything more than friends. I mean, he was used to dangerous women," Sookie said, recalling the maenad and Janna Lynn, "and without vampires and all the intrigue, I'm just a boring barmaid from Bon Temps, Louisiana. So we parted ways on friendly terms and then, as soon as Karin's protection ended, I didn't really see a need for me to stay in Bon Temps anymore. The town had become too small and no one there really needed me. Jason had Michelle and his new family. My cousin Hunter, well his daddy took him away to California. I felt … lonely and claustrophobic." Sookie's mood was melancholy and she didn't like the feeling.

Putting on a happy face, Sookie continued, "So, I travelled. I saw the world. Sometimes, I'd run across someone in trouble, using my disability," she tapped her head, "and I'd try to find a way to help them. I did this for decades. Thing was, I was aging, but it was real slow like. When I turned 60, I still looked like I was 30. While I don't know for sure, I think it was because of my faerie heritage. Anyway, I was about 100 when I finally decided to settle down in the Dominican Republic. From there, I was able to take excursions into Haiti and, with the money I inherited from Niall, I set up a clinic and a small school for the poor. I did that until I died, at about 150. Quite frankly, I lost track of my age over the years. In hindsight, I see how easy it is for you all to do it, too," she said nervously fingering the hem on her dress.

"You didn't marry and have children of your own," Eric pressed.

"I didn't _marry again_, no." Eric's eyes flashed at her choice of words. She never acknowledged their marriage when they were together, but it seemed like maybe now she finally had; however, for him, it was too little too late. A sadness crept into Sookie's voice, which was difficult for her to hide. "And no, I didn't have children … I didn't want to pass my curse onto any child of mine…. But I feel like, I did have children, in a way. All of the children that attended my school, the young women who came to my clinic, they were my family, my children."

"You died, and yet you're here," Eric said, silently demanding an explanation.

"Yes, I died of old age. My body was brought back to Bon Temps for my funeral, and that is when you saw me Pam. My soul, however, went to heaven."

"Heaven, like the Christian heaven?" Pam asked curiously.

"Heaven, the Summerlands, the Supreme Consciousness, Paradise … Valhalla … it's all the same place." When she mentioned Valhalla, Eric's eyes intensified. "And while I was there, I saw Claudine. She did it, she became an angel. I was so overjoyed to see her. She brought me before the Great Creator."

"The Great Creator?" Pam asked, while Eric continued to sit stoical.

"Well, that is what I like to call her, and most angels do. You may know her better as God, Allah, Krisna… or Odin …" and Eric raised his brows again, "she is all of them and more. She had an offer for me. It seems that because of the good acts in my life, she offered to make me an angel, a guardian angel to be exact. She gave me the chance to look over my descendants who had the essential spark. That's what I've been doing for the last 150 years, give or take a decade."

"So, you've been in America... Northern Louisiana even... for …" Pam quickly did the mental math … "about 150 years as an angel … and you never made your presence known? You never came to see us? Even after Eric's marriage to Oklahoma ended?"

"No, I didn't." Eric sat as still as a statue, his eyes boring into Sookie. "You have to understand, despite the years, it was still difficult for me, the way everything ended with me and you both, with all the vamps really. I was afraid. But yes, like most guardian angels, I've lived here, among the living. Sometimes I cloak myself so I can watch my ward unobserved. I can also take any form. For example, I chose this form because it was how you both remembered me. Or I can look like this," and Sookie transformed herself into an elderly woman. "This is how I looked when I died. This is how you saw me in my coffin Pam," she croaked with an unsteady voice. "Or I can look like this," and Sookie transformed herself again, this time looking like a young child. "This is me at 7, when my parents died and I went to live with my Gran," her voice was soft and childlike. "Or I can look like this," Sookie transformed herself to look as if she was 25, only slightly younger than how she originally appeared. "This is how I looked the day I walked into this bar for the very first time. But I prefer to look like this," and she transformed herself back into her 29-year-old self. "This is how I looked when I saw you last. After being stabbed in Club Dead, after being nearly drained and then raped by Bill, after the bombing in Rhodes, after the pledging, and the divorce," and she flicked her eyes up to Eric's looking for any sign of emotion from him. Receiving none, she continued "And this is how I looked after I was tortured by Neave and Lochlan. See my scars from their bites." Sookie lifted up the hem of her skirt to reveal the faint scars of silver bite marks on her thighs. Eric unknowingly reached out his hand to touch them, but quickly pulled back when he realized what he was doing and resumed his cold stare.

"I prefer this form … with my scars. It's a reminder of who I was in my life and what I endured. And that I survived."

"This is all well and good but why are you here Sookie? If you've been living among humans, why make yourself known to us now?" Eric demanded.

"Well, my last charge, the last of my line here on earth passed tonight, Peter" she pressed her fingers to her lips as she said his name. "There are no more Stackhouses to protect. I have been given a choice ... a chance really, to go to heaven, to my family, and live for good. So, you see, I'm here to say good-bye," she said with a forced smile.

"Leave, for good, but... but we just got to see you again!" Pam shouted, gripping Sookie's hand so tightly, had she been human, it would have broken.

"You said a choice. What choice?" Eric interrupted.

"A choice, a chance," Sookie hemmed and hawed.

"I heard you. You said a choice. Answer me!" he thundered.

Both Sookie and Pam looked at Eric with wide eyes, but then Pam turned to Sookie and said, "Sookie, is it true? Have you been given a choice? Is there another way? A way for you to stay?"

Sookie looked at Pam's expectant face. She didn't want to lie to her friend and she sighed, "Yes, I've been given a choice. I can stay in this realm and be given another to guard, or I can go home to my family. But I already made my decision, I'm going home. I can't stand the thought of growing attached to another person only to have them ripped from me yet again," Sookie said as she shot a look at Eric. "It's better this way. I really just wanted to come and say good-bye, get closure. I never really got the chance to do it properly when I was alive."

"Sookie! You can't leave, not yet. You can stay, stay here with us!" Pam pleaded.

"And what? Pam, look at me," she said looking at her dress. "I'm a relic here. I don't have a place in this world anymore. I can guard another, but I'd be heartbroken again at their passing. I just can't…. Surely, vampires of all people understand. I can't live forever, always losing the people I love!" she cried, her raised voice full of emotion.

"Eric! You have to stop her! We can't just let her leave!" Pam entreated.

Eric sat stoic, the muscles in his jaw sawing back and forth, "Yes, we can. She left us before, she can leave again. We didn't even know she existed until half an hour ago."

"You stupid fool! You know you still…"

"Silence Pam!" Eric boomed. "I will give you a maker's command if you do not remember your place!"

Just then Pam lunged at Eric, scratching at his eyes. Eric quickly flipped Pam and pinned her to her desk, knocking books, papers and office supplies to the floor. Although younger, Pam's hands still managed to find Eric's throat and she gripped it tightly. Suddenly a brilliant white light blinded them both and they froze in place.

"Stop this now!" the light commanded. Slowly the light returned to Sookie's 29-year old form. "I won't have you fighting over me, over the decisions I make… the decisions I've made… and what I've had to live with."

"What was that?" Eric asked, letting Pam up off the desk.

"My true form. I'm a being of light now. I take corporeal form because that is what I have to do in this world. But my true nature is light."

"It is beautiful," Pam whispered.

"Thanks," Sookie said shyly. "We all have it, at least a little of it, in us. Even vampire. It's your soul and it is perfect."

"We don't have souls," Eric said definitively.

"Yes, you do. As an angel, I'm somewhat of an expert on souls, and you have one. You just choose to deny its existence, but that doesn't mean it isn't there, that it doesn't guide you, your decisions... Look, I don't want there to be any discord between you two. I had already made my mind up to leave when I came here tonight. I really just wanted to say good-bye. I … care about you both … very much. You are the only people left in this realm about which I do, and I don't want to leave knowing that you are going to fight because of me. I'm at peace with my decision. I hope you will accept it."

Pam gave Sookie a tight hug, "I don't want to lose you again," she sobbed.

"I know. I'll miss you too Pam. But maybe one day we'll see each other again. You were a good friend to me Pam. I'll always remember you."

"Go! Go then Sookie! Leave! Runaway, again! You did what you came to do," Eric said defiantly. "I already said my good-byes 250 years ago, and it cost me my wife, my freedom and two centuries of my children's company. Now that you've said your piece, there's nothing left to say." Eric stormed out of Pam's office in a fit of barely contained rage.

"Eric! Wait!" Sookie called after him but he never stopped, never turned around.

Pam gripped Sookie's arm tightly, "Go to him Sookie. Make him understand," and Sookie nodded. "Goodbye my friend," Pam said as gave Sookie one last hug and kissed her cheek.

Sookie quickly left Pam's office, but she hesitated in the hallway. Eric was nowhere to be found and she didn't know which door led to his office; that is, until she heard the sounds of crashing and of breaking of glass coming from just down the hall. Sookie ran to the door from which all the noise and destruction was coming and waited outside for just a moment before it quickly died down. She slowly entered Eric's office and, even through the destruction, she could see his office was diametrically the opposite of Pam's. Whereas Pam's office was light, pink, and comfortable, Eric's was dark, hard and cold. Eric stood behind his desk with his back to the door. His hands were resting on either side of a now slashed painting. Sookie looked at the painting and though torn, she could tell it was the one bright spot in his office. Seemingly compelled, she stepped over the debris that littered the floor, moving closer to the painting to get a better look. She saw that the painting was of a blond woman with blue eyes standing in the sun. A blonde woman who looked a lot like Sookie.

Eric, sensing Sookie's approach, tensed as she moved into the room and closer to the painting. He, however, never turned around.

"Is that..." she began, but she was unable to finish her question.

"Yes, that. I had it made while I was in Oklahoma. Useless sentimentality and all that, but the artist was talented," he said dismissively.

"Is that how John knew who I was?" Sookie asked.

"John is Pam's child. He's seen this painting, but I'm sure Pam has also told him about you, us, and your history with our kind. You are still famous in certain vampire circles, especially those who were at Rhodes." Eric spun around to face Sookie, his eyes showing every bit of his 1300 years. "Why are you really here Sookie? Why follow me here? You wanted to say goodbye, then goodbye. There's the door. You had no trouble finding it before everytime you've run away from me." His voice sounded defeated and hollow.

"I wanted you to know that I have a lot of regrets from my human life, but none so much as where you are concerned."

"You regretted our marriage," Eric stated, as if fact.

"No. It's funny. It was only after you divorced me that I really understood what it meant to be married to you. I regret that I didn't honor our marriage like I should have when I was alive … when I had you."

"Do you regret using the cluviel dor to save the Shifter's life, knowing that it cost us … us?"

Sookie shifted her weight on her feet, and wrung her hands. "Yes and no. If I had to do it over again, I would still use it to save Sam's life, but I do regret what it cost us." Eric hardened at Sookie's confession. "You forget, I am … was … pissed at you too. I thought you could get out of the marriage but you never did. I was mad at you for dumping me like you did. I mean, that public humiliation of a divorce! Then you told me you were going to turn me against my will. My god, you asked me to be your mistress! And when I was cast aside, like an unwanted trinket, I felt like I meant nothing to you. I never even heard from you again!" Sookie said, herself hardening to Eric's continued unrelenting coldness.

"So you came here to insult me!" Eric shouted.

"No, I came here to say good-bye! … And that I love you… I've always loved you, even if you could 'only love me as much as you were capable.' I never married again because you were it for me. The only husband I wanted was you, and I couldn't have you because you left me! You left me to marry another woman!" Sookie stood, leaning over Eric's desk shouting at him.

Eric stood, his eyes blazing and his hands pounded into the wood of his desk, splintering it. "I left you! You are the one who did all the running in our relationship! It's not that you used the cluviel dor to save the Shifter … it's that you never even trusted me enough to tell me that you had it. I had to hear about it from Niall! That's a great way to show your love. And now what? You come back all these years later to tell me you're leaving when I never even knew you were here? Telepathy wasn't your real gift Sookie; your real gift was... is... running away."

"I never said I didn't make mistakes! I know I did, and I'm trying to make it right," Sookie softened. Here, she reached into her purse and slowly removed a locket, reverently placing it on Eric's desk. It was a light green and it resembled a talisman from his own time. Magic pulsated from it.

"What is this?" Eric asked, puzzled. He was seemingly compelled, yet afraid to touch it.

"You can never doubt my love for you. I took all of my love for you and used it to create this, my parting gift to you, a cluviel dor." Eric picked it up and slowly turned it over his hands. He could literally feel the love and magic emanating from it; it was warm with it. "When I first became an angel, I finally had access to the magic and power necessary to make this. It took me a long time, but time was all I had, right? Don't doubt me, or my love for you. I did … I do love you. After I saved Sam, I felt horrible knowing that I lost the one chance we had at getting you out of your contract with Oklahoma. I saw what you gave up to make me safe. I never want you to have to do that again. This is for you, so that you never have to be a slave again. That you never have to be forced to do anything that you don't want to do."

Sookie rounded the desk and closed Eric's fingers over the locket. It was the first time they had touched in hundreds of years. A glow of light shone where their hands met, and Sookie, never taking her eyes off of Eric's, stood up on tiptoe and pressed her lips into his. Tears began to flow from her eyes and she closed them as she said, "Good-bye Eric, my husband. I will always love you." Then, she turned to leave the room.

Eric stood dumbfounded as she turned to leave. "Where are you going?" he asked once she reached the door. With her hand still poised on the knob and without turning around, she said, "I think I should like to watch my last sunrise on earth while sitting on my old porch swing." And with that, she left.

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this. Pretty sure there is just one more chapter left! Let me know what you think (please - okay, is that too desperate?)! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting you this chapter, but work got very busy. Anyway, I lied in my last note. I have two more chapters, this one and then Chapter 5... but then that will really be it. I hope you enjoy it. As always, if you like this, then you have tabularasa88 to thank because she is a wonderful pre-reader! **

Ch. 4

Eric turned the cluviel dor over and over in his hands, letting the warmth and love that emanated from it wash over him. He could hardly bear to put it away, it was so compelling, but he knew what something like this meant. A cluviel dor was rare and powerful. Either one of those two things on its own would have earned him enemies, but together … there were people and factions that would do literally anything to have magic as powerful as this. Finally, Eric pulled himself from fixating on it long enough to remove his own necklace - a pewter talisman on a leather cord - and replace the talisman with the cluviel dor. He tied it around his neck and let it fall under his shirt. The cluviel dor sat against his heart, warming it from the outside. The feel of it on his skin brought him a sense of peace that he hadn't felt in hundreds of years … not since Sookie.

Sookie.

She was here, in this realm … and she has been for some time, he reminded himself. Why didn't she come to him sooner ... especially after his marriage to Oklahoma ended? Or why didn't she at least go to Pam, a trusted friend? Why did she say she was afraid? She is an angel now, so what could there possibly be for her to fear? Eric was especially confused by her decision to not marry and have children and he pondered what she had said only moments earlier. He knew that, more than anything, Sookie wanted a normal life, with a husband and children; yet in her lifetime, she denied herself that which she wanted most … all things that he could never give her. While he could understand that she didn't want to pass on her "curse," as she called it, to her children, she could have adopted. She still could have been a mother. _She would have been a wonderful mother_, he thought wistfully. And what did she mean that he was her only husband, the only one she wanted? When they were together, she had denied their marriage, never really accepting it. He was so lost in his thoughts of Sookie… her sudden reappearance after thinking her dead for so many years, and his sadness at seeing her leave him once again… that he didn't notice Pam until she was standing in front of him, even though she had stormed into his office and slammed the door closed upon her entry.

"Are you fucking stupid!" she spat as she placed her hands on her hips.

Eric hardly pulled himself from his thoughts before he answered her. "Excuse me?" he questioned, barely raising his eyes to her's.

"Are. You. Fucking. Stupid," her stilted speech annunciated each word precisely. "Sookie left and you just let her go."

Eric wiped his face with his hand, as if doing so would wipe away the memory of Sookie leaving him once again and the saddness that it evoked. "Pam, I'm not having this conversation with you."

Pam immediately softened when she saw the look of defeat on Eric's face; defeat which she could also feel through their bond. She walked around to his side of the desk and hesitated as she raised her hand to touch Eric's shoulder before letting it fall away. She was at a loss as to what to do, how to comfort him. But then again, Pam had rarely seen her maker, the Great Eric Northman, so despondent. After what seemed an eternity, Pam fell to her knees at Eric's feet, her hands gripping his thighs firmly. Her eyes, so full of emotion, searched his face as she spoke, "Eric, I love you. You are my world, my maker, my reason for existing. You gave me this life, showed me how to live it and how to love it, as you did. But for the past 250 years, you have been miserable," Pam's eyes were rimmed red with tears that threatened to spill. "I feel your pain and emptiness in our bond. I could feel it when you were in Oklahoma and I thought maybe when the marriage ended, you would be happy once again, reunited with your children and the vampires who are loyal to you, but you aren't. If anything, your pain has only grown over the years. I am at a loss. I don't know what to do. Eric, I fear that I am going to lose you … that you will become like so many other vampires who live too long without purpose… those who meet the sun." Eric's eyes intensified at her keen insight, and Pam's tears now fell freely. "You don't love this life anymore, being vampire, at least not like you used to. Not since Sookie. Sure, you feed, because you must, and you fuck, but even then, you are more often wont to glamour women into thinking you've fucked them. But I know the truth."

Eric let out an unnecessary sigh. "What do you want me to say Pam?" He searched her face for any clue as to the words that would ease her suffering. He may be unhappy, miserable even, but as her maker he could never stand to see Pam in pain, even if it was his own. He slowly tried to close off their bond to shield her from the darkness within himself, but her grip on his thighs intensified and her eyes reflected her hurt. He immediately regretted his decision, knowing that shutting her out was not going to allay the fear she felt for him. So, Eric slowly reopened the bond. Pam's grip relaxed almost immediately.

"You know, our bond doesn't lie. The 200 years I spent in Oklahoma, and the 50 years since, have been the worst of my existence. Not that my time with Appius wasn't bad, but when I was a new vampire under his control, I had nothing to lose. However, when I left Louisiana, I lost everything … you, Karin, and Sookie, my wife and bonded. The only consolation I had in leaving you was knowing that I would see you and Karin again, and with Sookie, well, I knew she would get to lead the human life she always wanted, even if it was with someone else. I thought I could go on; continue life as I had before. But I have never been the same since Sookie. She changed me. You are right Pam. I am not the same vampire I once was, not since she came into my life."

"But I don't understand. She is here, now. If anything, it is even better now. She is immortal. You can be together, but you need to go to her, quickly, and make her understand!" Pam pleaded, her voice breaking with her sobs.

"She doesn't want that." Eric's voice was resigned.

Just then, there was a brief knock at the door. "Mistress? Is everything okay?" John asked from the other side of the door. He had felt his maker's distress and needed to make sure she was alright.

"Yes John," Pam called, wiping her tears with the back of her hand and trying to make her voice sound as normal as possible. "Go tend to the front door. I'll be out later," she dismissed as she sent him her reassurance.

"Yes Mistress," John called back in a doubt-filled voice. Eric and Pam both fell silent as they listened to John's footsteps tread back down the hall.

Eric was the first to speak, "It's why you changed him, isn't it?" Eric asked. "You knew that if you had a child, I would return and help you; help you teach him our ways."

"Am I that obvious?" Pam responded with a small chuckle. "Yes, that was part of the reason. I knew if I made a child, you would return to me and help guide me as a maker. And I hoped that making John vampire would give you a new purpose for existing. But you know that there is more to it than that. John is Immanuel's descendent, a distant relation to my Miriam," Pam said, almost choking on her long dead lover's name. "Yet, despite the years and the fact that John never knew her, he is very much like her in many respects. In fact, he reminds me of her so much that when he was diagnosed with leukemia, I knew I wouldn't make the same mistake again, losing him as I had lost her. So, I turned him without seeking the king's permission. Phillipe was … unhappy … at first, but after a small fine and punishment, that was the end of the controversy. He has actually become quite fond of John over the years and often asks after him when I check in." Pam couldn't hide the regret in her voice, regret that she didn't do the same with Miriam.

"He makes you happy," Eric stated.

"Yes. You know he does," Pam said, unable to help the brief smile that graced her lips. "But he can't replace you," Pam turned serious again. "Don't leave me, Eric, please. I need you," she begged.

"Pam, you are a maker now. You don't need me anymore. You have John to look after. And you have Karin, too," Eric stroked Pam's face with the palm of his calloused hand. She couldn't help but lean into his touch, closing her eyes to focus on the love and comfort he was sending her through their bond. "You and Karin are my greatest accomplishments. I have never been more proud than I am of the two of you."

"Eric…" Pam began, but Eric pressed his fingers into her lips.

"Pam, seeing Sookie tonight has made me realize that I cannot be parted from her again. I won't. I will either have her here with me on this plane, or I will join her in the hereafter."

"No, Eric!" Pam pleaded.

"Shh... Pam, you don't understand. You see, Sookie gave me a gift tonight," Eric said stroking the cluviel dor over his shirt before slowly pulling it out to show to Pam.

It was light green with an intricate silver design. It looked almost like a locket, but it had no opening. A faint glow emanated from its surface, and Pam, though she felt compelled, was afraid to touch it, "Is that a…"

"Yes, it is a cluviel dor. Sookie made it for me when she became angel. She took her love for me and her newfound magic and spent many years crafting this. Pam, if I ever doubted her love before, I could no longer do so. This is a powerful magical gift and it can only be made from pure love."

"Oh Eric!" Pam's eyes were lit with relief and delight. "This is the answer! You can use this to right all of the wrongs, go back in time to even before Sookie met any vampires! Why, this solves everything!"

"Pam, I won't use this gift to change the past, not without Sookie's consent." Eric's tone brooked no argument.

Pam's forehead furrowed with her confusion. "But … what? I don't understand."

"I will gladly use this to go back in time and undue my marriage to Oklahoma, and even before then, before Sookie was harmed and abused by anyone, especially vampires, but I can't change her life, our life together, without her consent. When we were together, she often complained of my highhandedness. In hindsight, I see that she didn't want other people making decisions for her, taking away any say she had in the things that affected her life. I won't do that to her, not again."

Pam considered Eric's meaning, "And if she refuses?"

"Then the cluviel dor is yours and I will join Sookie in the hereafter." Pam started to interrupt, but Eric cut her off, "But maybe I can convince her to stay. Stay here on this plane as an angel, with me. Convince her to give us another chance. But if I can't, then this gift I bequeath to you. You must keep its existence a closely guarded secret. Tell no one, not even John. Factions would do anything to have magic as powerful as this."

"I don't need it. I won't need it. Eric, promise me that if you can't convince her to stay, or get her to consent to going back and changing the past, then you will use her gift regardless, use it to keep her here … to keep you here. You must!" Pam began to cry in earnest, frantically clawing at Eric's shirt, shaking him to make him understand that anything that resulted in the end of his existence was simply unacceptable.

Eric pulled Pam into a tight hug, allowing her tears to stain his shirt as she sobbed. Pam collapsed into Eric's chest and he stroked her back in long soothing strokes. When she had calmed down a bit, he said "Pam, I can't promise you that, but I promise that I will try to convince Sookie to stay. That there is something, someone, here on earth worth staying for. I will try to convince her that I do not doubt her love for me, nor can I deny my love for her. I need her Pam. If anything, tonight has shown me that I do not choose to exist without her in my life."

Pam straightened and said, "Then go. Go to her now. You don't have much time before sunrise. Leave!" and Pam stood abruptly, pulling Eric to his feet. Eric looked around momentarily dazed. "Eric, go!" she shouted, and then, with purpose, he shot out the door and into the air.

…

Sookie sat on her old creaky porch swing, basking in the moon light, listening to the sounds of the cool fall night. Her feet rolled from heel to toe, toe to heel, slowly in time with her breath. She was left with nothing but her melancholy thoughts as she wiped away the silent tears that rolled down her cheeks. Seeing Eric was harder than she anticipated, and nothing like what she expected. He was so cold and angry and hurt. _Did you expect him to be any other way Stackhouse_, she chastised. He just saw his former lover, former wife, _ex-wife_, when he thought she was long dead and gone. However, their meeting left her convinced of one thing, and that was that there was nothing left for her in this world. Not anymore. Her one and only option now was to go home to the rest of her family and she resolved herself to her decision, and that it was for the best. No more death and loss, not anymore.

She sensed him before he made his presence known. Resigned, she sighed, and preemptively warned, "Please, Eric, I don't want to fight." She said it as if he were sitting right next to her instead of standing at the edge of the woods, but she knew he would be able to hear her just as well.

"Neither do I Sookie," he said as he slowly walked into the open and towards her on the porch.

**A/N: One more chapter left (for real this time)! Let me know what you think! Should he use the cluviel dor, even without her permission? Will he change the past? If so, at what point in time would he go back to? Or will she decide to stay? **


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

_Sookie sat on her old creaky porch swing, basking in the moon light, listening to the sounds of the cool fall night. Her feet rolled from heel to toe, toe to heel, slowly in time with her breath. She was left with nothing but her melancholy thoughts as she wiped away the silent tears that rolled down her cheeks. Seeing Eric was harder than she anticipated, and nothing like what she expected. He was so cold and angry and hurt. _Did you expect him to be any other way Stackhouse_, she chastised. He just saw his former lover, former wife, _ex-wife_, when he thought she was long dead and gone. However, their meeting left her convinced of one thing, and that was that there was nothing left for her in this world. Not anymore. Her one and only option now was to go home to the rest of her family and she resolved herself to her decision, and that it was for the best. No more death and loss, not anymore._

_She sensed him before he made his presence known. Resigned, she sighed, and preemptively warned, "Please, Eric, I don't want to fight." She said it as if he were sitting right next to her instead of standing at the edge of the woods, but she knew he would be able to hear her just as well._

_"Neither do I Sookie," he said as he slowly walked into the open and towards her on the porch._

Eric slowly approached the porch, uncertain of exactly how to proceed. Meeting his eyes, Sookie resolved his dilemma when she said "Why are you here Eric?" It recalled to him the very words he asked Sookie not an hour and a half earlier. Hearing his words repeated back to him, he became more intent on his purpose … to convince her to stay, one way or another.

"You said you wanted closure," he said as he walked up the porch steps and leaned against the railing next to Sookie. Crossing his arms over his chest he said, "Well, I don't want closure. I want you to stay."

Sookie sat stunned. Of all the things Eric could say to her at this moment, that wasn't even in the top 100 things she would have ever guessed. She had resigned herself to her fate, and here he was screwing with her decision, her certainty in her decision. "God Eric. Seriously? Your timing is impeccable."

"You're still here aren't you? Then I'm not too late," he said with a characteristic smirk.

The smirk was more than she could bear. It reminded her of the cocky, arrogant, high-handed Eric of her past. She had to tell herself, she wasn't that Sookie anymore. Plus, she was still reeling from their last encounter, so she put up her defenses. "And what exactly has changed in the last hour and a half Eric? I told you my decision, to leave this world. And you showed me the door. You didn't stop me from leaving," breaking into nervous laughter she continued, "You practically kicked me out!"

Eric's smirk faltered. He saw this wasn't going to be an easy task. Truth be told, he didn't make this easy for himself, given how things transpired earlier in the evening. He knew that and with a sigh he said, "I would like to think that in 1300 years, a man – even a vampire – can become self-aware enough to change … to admit when he is wrong. I was wrong Sookie. There is something for you here on earth. A reason for you to stay."

"What? … You? … Love? … Nothing like the 11th hour with you, huh?" she asked incredulously. "Eric, you are both a happy and painful chapter in my life. But in case you haven't noticed, like you, I've moved on. I lived the remainder of my human life and my life as an angel without you. And now I'm moving on again. If I were you, I'd skedaddle before the sun comes up and takes you to Valhalla too," she warned, knowing sunrise was no more than an hour or so away.

"Then you really don't understand anything about me or my past 250 years," he said sadly. "I never moved on Sookie. Not from you."

"I find that incredibly hard to believe," she chuffed.

Eric's eyes zeroed in on Sookie. She really wasn't going to make this easy for him. "You love me," he said definitively. After all, he had the cluviel dor to prove it.

Sookie let out an exasperated sigh. "What is this Eric?! What the fuck! It's over between us. We're done. I'm moving on. Don't you get it?"

"You. Love. Me," he restated slowly.

Sookie knew she couldn't deny him; she had told him as much more than an hour ago. Yielding she softly replied, "You know I do. I did, and I do. And it's over," and she firmly returned his stare.

"It doesn't have to be over Sookie. Stay with me," he said, moving to the swing and hesitating momentarily, to check her reaction, before sitting down next to her. He slowly took her hands in his, and again they glowed slightly at the contact. "I want to make amends. Make right the wrongs I did to you when you were human. I want you to know that the years haven't been easy for me. I've risen every night these past 250 years with the knowledge that I lost the one thing… the one person… I never wanted to live without." A silent tear snaked its way down Sookie's cheek, but with her hands held in Eric's, she couldn't bring herself to wipe it away. "I want you here, with me. Otherwise, I don't choose to rise another night. Not without you in my life."

At his words, Sookie's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't mean …" she began, unable to finish her sentence.

"I do," his voice was strong and unwavering.

"But … you've always had such joie de vivre..."

He gently squeezed her hands, "I did, once; but not in a long time. If I can't be with you on this plane, then I will follow you to the next."

Sookie took a deep gulp of air. "Eric, I … I can't let you do that… meet the sun," and unconsciously Sookie threw a quick glance at the horizon and noticed the sky was definitely lighter than when Eric first arrived.

"Then stop me. Stay," he said, stroking the back of Sookie's hands with his thumbs.

"Eric, my time here is done. I can't stay. What is there for me here? You? Love? Is it even enough?" she asked. "What happens when vampire politics get in the way again? Or, assuming we can avoid vampire politics, however unlikely that is, what happens when you tire of me? I'm immortal now, for as long as I choose to exist. I may have been a novelty to you back then, with a human life span of a mere 150 years, but you're talking forever now."

Eric could not hide the hurt or anger he felt at Sookie's words. "You think my love for you is some passing fancy? Do you want me to prove my love for you? Fine. Then let's sit here and meet the sun together. Will you know how much I love you then?" he challenged.

"Eric, I … I don't doubt that you love me … as much as you're able," she said repeating back his words to her from so many years ago, "but you've always been up front about caring for yourself more than anyone else."

Eric sighed unnecessarily. "I know I once told you I loved you as much as I was able. The thing is, I didn't realize that my ability to love you was limitless. Don't you see, my sweet Sookie, I love you more than myself and I'm willing to prove it to you." Despite her innate stubbornness and refusal to accept his profession of love, Sookie couldn't help but feel a small chink in her armor as her heart soared upon hearing his words ... words she wanted to hear from him so long ago. _But is it too late? Is it even enough now?_, she asked herself. Eric could see the doubt and indecision in her eyes, so he pushed on, "I have pined away for you every night for the past 250 years, each night growing more and more desolate. You can ask Pam, as she has felt my despair in our bond. After my contract with Oklahoma expired, Pam has been trying to keep me on this plane. It wasn't until tonight though that I realized that without you, I don't want to exist, not as I have."

Sookie's eyes flashed hot again. "Fucking and feeding? I heard several women tonight and saw what fond memories they had of your time together," Sookie spat, recalling her encounter with the women outside of Fangtasia.

"Sookie, I haven't fucked anyone since my contract with Oklahoma ended. I have been glamoring women into thinking we've fucked and that has kept many of them coming back to Fangtasia, and bringing their friends. It is good for business," Eric said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Bullshit," Sookie denied.

"As I've told you before, I will never lie to you Sookie."

"But fucking and feeding … it's what you do. It's the vampire way," and Sookie couldn't help the doubt that crept into her voice. "Right?" her faced searched his for the truth. This was certainly one of those times she wished she could read vampire minds.

"Sookie, vampires do have to feed to survive, and I have fed. And while fucking can be an enjoyable pastime, at least it usually is, we don't have to fuck to survive. Honestly, I haven't wanted to be with anyone since you. Of course, when in Oklahoma I had to do what was required of me by my contract, but even Freyda had to admit that she got tired of me pretending she was you, calling out your name. After a time, the obligatory annual fuck became perfunctory. I think she came to loathe it as much as I did."

"I ... I don't understand…" Sookie said with furrowed brow, questioning for the first time everything she ever thought she knew about vampires, and in particular, the vampire in front of her.

"I want to prove myself to you. Prove my love to you. I can only do that if you stay with me and give me a chance," Eric entreated, himself noticing the sky was increasingly lighter.

"But I made up my mind," Sookie weakly protested.

"Then change it," Eric pressed.

"I … I don't know. So much as passed between us. We can't possibly go back…"

Eric cut her off, "I know I've made mistakes and I wish more than anything that I can take them back. And now, if you want me to, I can," he said, lifting one hand from hers to stroke the cluviel dor over his shirt.

Sookie's eyes followed Eric's hand and she knew his meaning immediately, shaking her head "no" all the while. "That's not the point Eric. My gift is your out, when your world pushes you to do something you don't want to do…. Wait… Is that why you're here? To use the cluviel dor to change the past? Undo the wrongs between us. You would do that?"

"I am prepared to do that. To undo all the hardships you have encountered in your life. To start fresh, if that is what you want. If that is what it takes to get you to stay, I will undo it all … undo my marriage to Oklahoma… go back to before you met Bill… before you were orphaned even. You just need to say the words and it is done," Eric said, gripping the cluviel dor through his shirt.

"No!" Sookie protested, covering his hand with hers. "No," she said more calmly. "I don't want that... There was a time when I would have said yes … maybe when I was human and younger, but I have come to understand that those things that happened to me in my life, even though they were painful, they made me who I am now. Even if I could change it, I wouldn't. It's the same reason I came to you with my scars, the ones I bear, physical and emotional; they made me who I am and I am at peace with that."

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Eric replied, his voice full of sadness and regret. He would love nothing more than to give Sookie a life full of happiness and joy; the life she deserved.

"So why did you offer it?" Sookie asked, genuinely curious.

"I had to at least give you the choice."

"Since when do you care about what I want? You normally ask for forgiveness, not permission," she bristled.

Eric ran his hand this hair and tried to find the words necessary to explain. "When I was first made vampire, I had no control over my existence. Appius controlled me in every way. Even after he released me, I had to answer to him and to vampire hierarchy. And when Appius returned, even after he met his true death, I couldn't avoid his command. I know now that is what I was doing to you when I shut you out and made decisions that affected you without talking to you about them first. I may have done it to protect you, but I can see now how misguided that thinking was. You are stronger than I was ready to admit Sookie."

Sookie began to silently sob. "Eric, I … I just don't know…"

"Sookie, look at me," Eric pleaded as he shot a quick glance at the sky. The stars now were increasingly fading, giving way to the coming morning. "I want you. Whether it is here on earth or in the hereafter, then so be it. I am not going to let you go. Not again. If it is the past that bothers you, then I can change it, and will without question. You can live a happy life, free from the hardships you have endured, the losses you have suffered. I will gladly do that for you, for us. You just need to say the word. Tell me what you want from me, and I will give it to you."

Sookie squeezed her eyes closed as her tears fell quickly now. Eric hating to see Sookie cry, pulled her into a hug and they sat there on the porch swing in a tight embrace. He stroked her hair over and over, whispering words of comfort to her in a long dead language. It was everything she ever wanted … at least it was at one time. Could it really be enough now?

They sat like that, lost in each other, for just how long neither really knew. It wasn't until the sky suddenly brightened and panic struck Sookie. "It's too soon … it can't be dawn already!" Sookie screamed.

Eric simply looked Sookie in the eyes. The calmness in his eyes unnerved her and before she knew it, he pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss. If he were to perish from this earth, then he wanted one last kiss with Sookie before his existence ended. The kiss went on and on though. Eventually, despite the lightening sky, Sookie saw that Eric wasn't burning up in the sun and she pulled away from him to look at the source of the light.

Eric reluctantly broke their kiss and followed her gaze. Before them was a brilliant shining white light, only it wasn't the sun.

"Great Creator," Sookie whispered. Eric whispered "Odin" and something else in a foreign tongue, and despite the fact that Sookie didn't know what he said, his awe was evident from his tone. They sat still, giving the light their undivided attention.

"Sookie … Eric," the light spoke with a soft woman's voice. "Sookie, you have made your decision. I am here to receive it."

"I … I thought I had decided, but I'm not so sure anymore," Sookie hedged.

Eric quickly looked to Sookie's face, basked in the Great Creator's light. He knew that if she were to leave him, he would follow her … to the ends of the earth and beyond.

"Sookie," the light said, "I know you better than you know yourself. You have made your decision; you just haven't spoken it yet."

"Tell me what to do, what to say," she pleaded.

"Tell me what you've already decided," the light pressed back.

"I … I don't know..." She felt she'd collapse under the pressure of her answer. It seemed it wasn't just her future at issue anymore.

"Stay Sookie," Eric pleaded. He grasped her chin with his forefinger and thumb and pulled her face to his. His eyes searched her's, hoping beyond reason that she would simply say the words he so desperately needed to hear.

"I… I…" she stuttered.

"My child," the light called, "Look into your heart, the answer lies there. But you must say it. Speak child."

"I'm tired of death … I don't know that I can guard... and lose... another," Sookie hesitated. Peter's passing was still fresh in her mind. She could stay, but to do so meant she'd have to live through more losses; more than she thought she was capable of bearing.

"Stubborn angel," the light chastised. "Say it Sookie, speak your choice," the Great Creator gently commanded.

"I … yes," she said to the Great Creator. Then, turning to Eric she said, "Yes, Eric. I'll stay. It will mean that I will continue to have to say goodbye to those in my care, seeing them onto heaven, but I'm willing to do it, if you help me. Will you? Will you be with me?" Sookie asked, looking up to Eric through tear-stained lashes.

"Sookie," Eric breathed as he pulled her into his chest in an embrace. He firmly kissed her temple and then moved to her soft, warm lips. "I promise you, I will prove myself to you. You will know my love for all the days of eternity. And I can help you bear the losses of those in your care. As a vampire, I too have known many losses and I understand your suffering. Let me be there for you; allow me to help ease your pain."

Sookie slowly turned towards the light. Her clothes magically became the white gossamer gown of an angel and she said, "Great Creator, I am ready for my next charge."

The light pulsated and spoke again, "Sookie, your next charge is Eric Northman. Do your job well and you will never again know the death of a charge. And if you do, then I know you will be following him to heaven and the great beyond."

Sookie looked puzzled. She had never heard of an angel being assigned to a vampire before. Was that even possible? "Eric?" she asked, both a question and a plea for confirmation.

"Yes Sookie. Your lives are intertwined. Show him he has a soul and that it is worth saving. He is your charge now, your responsibility. Guard his existence well." With that, the light slowly began to fade away.

Eric and Sookie sat on the swing alone once again, watching the light fade. However, some lightness remained as the sun began to climb the sky.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Sookie could just make out the rising sun through the forest trees in the distance and she shouted, "Eric, we have to get you out of here. The dawn is coming!" She stood and tried to lift Eric, but the pull of dawn was already pulling him under, making him lethargic. "Eric! Come on, I need you to help me!" The light began to slowly break over the tree line and a light smoke began to rise from Eric's exposed skin.

"Eric, I'm going to move you into the house, okay, but you have to help me. One foot in front of the other, okay!" she shouted trying to get through to him in his daytime induced stupor.

Eric simply nodded and then, raising his hand to his neck, he pulled out the cluviel dor. Sookie barely noticed, being so focused on the door to her old farmhouse. She knew the cubby was there, so there was still a light tight space of safety just 60 feet away. Then she heard him say it. It was only a whisper, but the word was unmistakable: "Evigt."

The cluviel dor burst open and a green light washed over Eric, the force of which lifted him up a few feet into the air, his arms and legs splayed and his head tipped back with his hair framing his face like a golden halo, tinged with the green light of the cluviel dor's magic. Sookie stood back aghast, but she didn't release his hand. The green light similarly spilled onto her as well and she felt the tingle of her magic permeate them both.

Once the green light began to subside, Eric slowly lowered back down to earth and what she saw amazed her. The reddish sunburn that had begun to mar his beautiful face began to recede, the rising smoke died away and Eric became self-aware, moving on his own despite the dawn. Eric took a great, unnecessary breath as the rising sun broke fully above the tree line and bathed the front of the old farmhouse in the early morning sunlight.

"Eric! You're okay!" Sookie squealed, unable to help herself from stating the obvious.

Eric looked himself over and as his eyes met Sookie's he said, "Yes, my Sookie. I am." Notwithstanding that it had been more than 1300 years since Eric had seen the sun (but for that brief time in Rhodes), he never shifted his eyes from her and towards the continually rising sun. He simply couldn't tear his eyes from the beautiful woman before him. He had never seen Sookie bathed in sunlight and she was even more breathtaking than he had imagined, even more beautiful than in his painting.

"I … I don't understand. How? What did you wish for? What is 'evigt'?" she asked looking at the now spent cluviel dor hanging around Eric's neck.

"Evigt," he repeated. "Forever."

"Forever," she quietly repeated.

"Forever with you ... forever," he cupped her face in his hands, kissing her gently at first. However, as the kiss grew more intense, he pulled back briefly and said, "And even then, forever with you will not be long enough." After another long, passionate kiss, Eric pulled Sookie tightly into his chest, firmly clasped her waist, and then shot off into the morning sky.

…

_5 weeks later…._

They had never been happier. There was no intrigue, no politics, no enemies. Not even the sun could harm Eric anymore, or force him into a daytime sleep, thereby cutting his days with Sookie short. They owed it all to the magic of the cluviel dor. The only thing they had was time … time getting to know each other once again; reconnecting with each other; loving each other; and they didn't waste a minute of it.

It took a little doing, but since Eric held no formal position in vampire hierarchy anymore, he just needed to make sure all was well with Pam and John and wrap up his business affairs before he was able to leave the state. Pam assured Eric and Sookie that she could cover for Eric with the King. If the King was threatened, Pam would be able to recall her Maker and solicit his aid. That was all Phillipe would really care about - having Eric's sword if needed. And since Sookie hadn't made her presence on earth generally known to anyone after becoming an angel, it was easy for her to continue to keep her existence hidden and leave unnoticed.

After Eric learned of Sookie's fondness for the Haitian people, and her lifetime's work there, he bought a beach front home near her old house in the Dominican Republic. Together, they trekked into Haiti daily to help the poor. Whether as an angel or from her inherent goodness, Sookie wanted to ease the pain of those who suffered. It seemed to her that this part of the world had so much poverty, natural disasters, and government corruption, there was much to be done. But if they ever finished their work there, who knew where they would travel to; there are always those in need. Surprising himself, Eric even found their work personally rewarding. In fact, with each good act, his soul glowed a bit brighter each day and he finally started to accept that he did have a soul after all, and that maybe, just maybe, through his kind acts, he could redeem himself.

Of course, when they weren't in Haiti helping people, they were together … in bed, on the beach, in the ocean, in the jungle ... whether in the sun or in the moonlight.

"Do you ever think we'll tire of this?" Sookie asked as they lay naked in bed, with only a sheet covering the lower half of their bodies. She lay just across Eric's upper back, peppering his shoulder with light kisses as one hand combed through his hair.

"Never," Eric said as he flipped her over on her back, pressing her into the bed with his hips. One hand stroked her hair while the other lightly outlined her face, her neck, moving to the curve of her breast, and down to the scar left from where she was staked in Jackson. True to their first meeting, she kept her 29-year old form. For Eric, he had mixed emotions about this. He hated seeing her scars … being reminded of how cruel life had treated her all those years ago, but he loved the strength she seemed to get from this form and her acceptance of herself.

Eric slowly lowered himself to kiss her scar, and then he proceeded down her body, tracing the faded scars from Neave and Lochlan's torture and kissing them too in his futile attempt to kiss them away. When he got down to her thighs, she let out a sigh and looked down to meet his gaze. There is nothing like the comfort and familiarity of an old lover. After all these years, he didn't need to tell her to watch him. She enjoyed watching him please her. And please her he did.

After she reached her second climax, he turned her onto her stomach and positioned himself at her entrance. As he began to slowly press his way into her, their light began to glow, breaking the barriers of their skin and filling the room with their combined brightness. His pace was steady, rhythmic and unrelenting.

"Never enough. Never enough of you my Sookie," he said, timing his words to each thrust of his hips.

Sookie arched her back, meeting each thrust with a small thrust of her own. "Yes. I'm yours ... your Sookie ... and you are _mine_," she said, eliciting a feral growl. "Claim me. Bite me," she commanded as she moved her hair back from her shoulder.

Eric's growl grew louder and his thrusts intensified … growing faster and harder. Finally, he bent down, dragging his fangs along the arch of her neck, gently scraping the skin.

Biting an angel isn't like biting a human. Angels are beings of light, not flesh and blood. If a vampire bites an angel, he drinks in her light. For most, it is fatal, as light tends to be for vampires. But for Eric and Sookie, the magic of the cluviel dor ... evigt ... changed that for them.

As Eric's fangs pressed into Sookie's neck, her light spilled into Eric's mouth, making his own light glow stronger, and he purred his contentment. To him, her light was better than blood, even fairy blood. In fact, the thought of drinking fairy blood instead of drinking Sookie's light turned Eric's stomach. It may as well be mud ... or True Blood, for that matter.

Instead of weakening Sookie, feeding Eric her light strengthened her as well. It was part of the connection of their souls.

As Eric drank, his hand worked its way beneath Sookie and began to rub her clit. Finally, one, two, three, four thrusts later, Eric released his bite and they both cried out their pleasure, riding out their orgasms. As they did so, their combined light burst forth and engulfed the room.

They lay on top of the bed, spent and sated. Eric was pressed into Sookie's back, cuddling her from behind. He reverently kissed the place on her neck where he had just drank from, although his marks were no longer there. She snuggled down into the bedding, pulling his large right hand around her waist, holding it in her small hand just at her chest. He pressed one more kiss into her temple and as his lips brushed against the shell of her ear he whispered, "Evigt, forever."

**A/N: I'm going to run and duck for cover now! I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with this chapter. So many of you wanted Eric to use the cluviel dor to go back in time and start over with Sookie ... righting the wrongs ... and it was so tempting to write this story like that. But I really had envisioned this as a finite story (remember, I was originally writing for a challenge after all, even though I didn't finish it in time to enter it). If I were to go back into time, well, that is a book in itself and I'm not sure I can do it justice right now. ****For now, I am going to turn my attention back to my other WIP; however, if there is enough interest, I think I may write an alternate ending to this story at some point (although I do like this ending, very much), where Eric does go back in time. We'll see if that is just another chapter, or a spin-off story of its own if I write it at all. Again, thank you all for sticking with this story and for reviewing. It has been wonderful hearing all of your ideas.**

**And a special thanks goes to tabularasa88. She really is a wonderful proofreader and general bouncer of ideas. If you enjoyed this story, it is undoubtedly because of all the behind the scenes work and advice she offered.**


End file.
